Time Flies
by WikketKrikket
Summary: Twelve years is a long time to wait, even for a childhood sweetheart. But if she wants to get a future, can Anzu really let go of the past...? 3 short parts! Author name changed from Waffles4eva
1. The Past

A/N: Welcome, welcome, to 'Time Flies' Phase One! Called Phase One because 'tis too short to be a chapter, but I thought this fic would work better split into three parts then as a one-shot. Yeah. But this is called 'The Past', so no prizes in guessing what the next two parts will be called. Oh, before we start, this is my first time attempting to use the Japanese names. So please don't hurt me if I get them wrong! _(Cowers) _

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh. I do not have enough money to buy it either, so please assume that this disclaimer is the only inevitability beside death and income tax.

Now then. To Phase One! Hope you enjoy!

Time Flies

Phase One: The Past

"Look!" He screamed, pointing up to the furthest corner of the sky. "It's over there! We don't have much time!"

"Ryou, I-"

"Yugi!" He replied, sharply. "Now is _not _the time for arguments! It's coming!"

"I don't think-" Anzu started, cautiously.

"This is one thing I know about!" Ryou insisted, pointing back at the ominous entity in the sky. "That is a rain cloud!" He smiled happily, before adding in a terrible accent, "There's a storm a' brewing!"

"I hope not." Anzu sighed in reply as the three continued along the road home from school, Ryou throwing occasional glances at his alleged cloud. "I hate thunderstorms."

"I doubt it, Anzu." Yugi reassured her. "Look at the sky. It's not going to thunder."

She looked up at the roof above them, the sun beating down, blissfully warm, on her face. It was an almost undisturbed blue, stretching out as far as the eye could see, like an inverted ocean. A single white cloud, the focus of Ryou's statement, drifted on it's lonely way across the deep blue, seemingly becoming stationary somewhere over the Kaiba Corp building. How very appropriate.

"I guess you're right!" Anzu relaxed. She hated the noise of thunder, the way lightning cast ugly shadows across the room when it came. "It's been _gorgeous _weather for days now, Ryou. And it won't be the rainy season for a while yet."

"Hmm…" Ryou grumbled, disappointed. "It's been so hot. We're about due a thunderstorm." He to looked hopefully up at the sky. "I can't wait for the rain." He commented.

Yugi and Anzu looked at him like he was mad. Ryou just shrugged.

"…I like rain."

"Yes, but…" Yugi said, bewildered. "How can you like the rainy season? It just rains and rains and rains for weeks, it never stops…"

"That's it exactly." Ryou grinned. "Doesn't it make you appreciate the sun more when it's over?"

"Yeah, I guess it does." Anzu laughed, as they stopped on the corner of her street. "You certainly have a… unique way of looking at things, Ryou."

"Or strange." Yugi whispered. She laughed more.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow." She gave a wave and began heading off, but unable to resist a parting shot. "Enjoy your storm, Ryou!"

Yugi laughed, but Ryou just waved it away, smiling slightly himself.

"You mark my words, Anzu Mazaki, it will _pour_ before the end of this fortnight!"

"Oh, I'm sure…"

Things couldn't get much better, Anzu thought, as she sailed along under the cloudless sky towards her house. It was beautiful weather, even for spring, she had great friends, she had no homework that night, and best of all, the cherry blossom festival was coming up. That was always good fun… Their exams were also coming up, but Anzu put it out of her mind. She didn't want to loose her good mood.

Of course, when things can't get better, they have no choice other then to get worse. Anzu entered her house to find that, while neither of her parents were home yet, the post was. She scooped it up from the porch floor, where it had been pushed through the letter box, and stepped inside her house, flicking through the pile.

Naturally, beside a postcard from her aunt, all the post was for one or the other of her parents. Except a simple, folded piece of paper with 'To the Resident' printed on it.

Anzu unfolded it. She was a resident to, right? Her eyes flicked down the single, typed page.

"_What!" _She demanded shrilly of the empty hall. The Hall, however, did not give an answer, maintaining its stony silence.

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"…It's a lot of money." Anzu's mom said, hesitantly.

"But it's our _house_!" Anzu protested. "I've lived here my whole life! I don't want to move!"

"Anzu…" Her father pleaded. "Let us think about this…"

The entire Mazaki family was now gathered in the bright kitchen, the walls matching the colour of the sky outside, the white cabinets and appliances looking almost like gathering clouds. Anzu, however, was feeling anything but serene. The piece of paper her parents were now reading was the sole cause of the bother, of course. A 'Local business' wanted to build another factory, the problem being that they wanted to build it _here. _Over their street. And they were offering a very handsome price for the house, and all the others on the street to, if they would move away. It was a lot of money. More then their house, and all it's contents, could possibly be worth.

"We could buy another house with this." Her mom mused. "A nicer, bigger house." She looked up at Anzu. "We could finally pay for you to have those dance lessons. You wouldn't need that job."

Anzu glared at her. She couldn't believe her own mother was even considering it! Her mom, however, seemed oblivious, a smile slowly creeping up her face.

"Mom!" Anzu protested. "You can't sell out to these… these… corporate freaks! I thought you were happy here!"

"We are." Her dad confirmed. "But, Anzu, you have to realise… Well, you've lived here all your life, you don't know… A house is just a building. A building filled with possessions. You have to trust your mother and I to take the right course of action."

Her mom began to move over to the corner of the kitchen- in the direction of the phone.

"Mom!" Anzu cried, desperate. "What are you doing!"

"The right course of action." Her mom echoed, pushing the offer into the paper shredder at her feet. She slapped her hands together as Anzu sighed in relief. "Right." She said. "How long till your dance lesson, Anzu?"

"Half an hour."

"Good." She nodded. "Well, come on then."

"Where are we going?" Anzu asked, curiously, following her parents out into the hall and slipping her shoes on.

"To rally the neighbours." Her father told her. "You're not going to stand for this, right?"

"Of course not!" Anzu yelled. "Our _home _is worth more then they could ever offer!"

And so, they took opposite sides of the street, and went to make sure the neighbours all felt the same way. As Anzu headed up the path to the front door of the house next door, number 6, she could smell the scent of mown grass. With each step, she felt herself transported further back into her childhood, all those times at the age of three when she'd stumbled up that path, before her dad had put the gate in the garden fence, going to visit him, the best friend she'd ever had…

But nowadays, she could reach the bell, and she rang. He did not answer the door. He wouldn't. He'd moved away… almost twelve years ago now, as the leaves had fallen from the trees. The house belonged to the University now, was let out to students. And she couldn't even remember his name…

"Don't worry." Eria said, the second she'd opened the door and seen Anzu there. "The decision lies with the University, and, money-grabbers they are, they may well _want _to accept this offer-" She waved the wrinkled notice, looking as if it had been screwed up and then unfolded again. "But you can bet we're not going to just sit around and let them!"

_Well, _Anzu thought dully as she headed to the next house. _I think I can consider them 'rallied'… _One down, a lot more to go.

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"Here." Yugi tutted, leaning over and freeing the small blossom out of her hair, as Anzu had been trying to do for some minutes. It was far harder to do when it was caught so far around the back of her head.

"Thanks."

Ryou's drab prediction for the change in the weather had yet to reveal itself as the day of the cherry blossom festival had dawned warm, with scuttling candyfloss clouds racing across it, surfing joyfully on the breeze. There was quite a wind, but it was warm and pleasant, quite refreshing compared to the unusual humidity of the last few days. The group had met at the festival, setting up a picnic blanket underneath one of the blooming cherry trees. They had all eaten to their full capacity, and, as the wind made the branches swirl around like they were swimming in the air, shoals of sakura petals fell down to earth, landing indifferently on people and food products alike. Yugi flicked the one that had been caught in Anzu's hair carelessly away, looking more relaxed then he had done in a long time, sitting among the swirling pink flowers. He'd grown a lot since finishing that Puzzle. Anzu just wished she could say the same for herself.

Ryou watched the pair of them carefully, taking no precautions to conceal his stare. Thoughts raced through his head, sometimes flickering briefly into his eyes, but he voiced none of them. Instead, he asked if 'anyone would care to go and see the koi pond'.

There were no takers.

"Or," He continued, evenly. "We could go and check out the ice-cream stall _next _to the koi pond…"

There were several enthusiastic volunteers.

As the group went to put shoes back on, find wallets and purses and all the rest, Yugi managed to catch Ryou's eye, trying to transmit a message of gratefulness. Apparently, he was not the only one who had noticed Anzu seemed a little blue, and now the Brit was giving him the opportunity to talk to her without everyone there. But Ryou just gave his customary gentle smile; leaving Yugi in utter confusion as to whether he'd got the message or, indeed, if Ryou just wanted an ice-cream after all. Or possibly both. Who knew?

"Anzu…" He said, slowly, as the others disappeared behind a hedgerow. She turned to face him, brushing a petal off her arm as another gust of wind sent the branches careering around. "…Is something wrong?" He looked at her in concern. She hadn't eaten nearly as much as she normally did, nor had she talked much, and she hadn't even laughed so hard she sprayed her drink around in that endearing, but terribly unladylike way. There had to be something wrong…

Anzu sighed deeply, resting her head in her hands. "Sorry…" She muttered. "Am I that obvious?"

"Yes. To me, at least." Yugi said, pulling her hands away so he could see her face. "I've known you since we were kids. I know these things. Now, what happened?"

"They've upped the offer." She didn't have to explain what she was talking about. They all knew about the current commercial war being fought over her street.

"Oh…" It was all he could think to say. "But… No-one's going to accept it, right?"

A slightly evil grin snuck its way onto Anzu's usually amiable face. "Not if I have anything to do with it."

Yugi smiled to. That's the Anzu _he _knew. "Hmmph. That'll be the end of that then. If you can deal with all the stuff we've dealt with, you'll have no problem dealing with some fusty office-workers." He paused. "And you have all of us, to. That's practically an _army_! We'll help however we can!"

"Yugi," Anzu replied, honestly. "_You _already have."

And they sat silently amongst the falling flowers until the others returned with ices of various varieties. Ryou pushed a simple strawberry cone into her hands. Her favourite.

"Ryou!" She protested. "You didn't have to buy me one! I didn't want one!"

"But now you do." He pointed out easily, as she had, despite herself, already licked it.

"I said I didn't want one…"Anzu pouted, liking it again. "You shouldn't have got me one."

"Oh, I didn't." Ryou denied. "I got an extra one, _purely _accidentally. A total mistake on my some what scatterbrained part. So by eating it, you're doing me a favour."

Anzu couldn't help but laugh. "You are mad." She told him.

"I prefer the word eccentric." Ryou smiled, catching Yugi's eye again and laughing at him with his eyes. _Well done_, they seemed to say, _for cheering her up_. Yugi nodded back gratefully, although inside he couldn't help but be a little disappointed that he hadn't been brought one to…

"Yugi." Jonouchi interrupted. "If you don't take this off me, I'm gonna eat it."

Yugi turned his head sharply, and saw the second chocolate cone that was being pushed towards him. He'd assumed the boy was going to eat both himself. Probably Jou had thought so to, but his good heart had been bigger then his stomach. A miracle.

Yugi accepted the cone quickly, watching as Anzu pulled a fallen petal from hers.

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"You know…" Mai said, slyly, over the noise of the hand-dryer Shizuka was using. "I didn't fail to notice that you and Yugi seemed awfully close when we got back with those ices…"

Anzu reddened, she could see the blush creeping up her face even in the tiny, distorted reflection the tap offered. But she also couldn't help smiling as she scrubbed her hands. Yes, she and Yugi _were _close, but she suspected not in the same way Mai had been implying. She should have known this was coming when the two had decided to escort her to the park's facilities. Luckily, beside them, the room was deserted- all the cubicles empty, no-one using the sinks but them. However, it was also slightly smelly, of chemicals and of waste, and she had no intention of staying here longer then necessary. Time to evade, Anzu.

"Oh?" She asked, innocently. "I don't know what you're driving at, Mai, but if you want another ice-cream, then you'll have to-"

"Nice try." Mai tutted. "You know what I mean. Anzu, honey, the boy _likes _you!"

"He does?" Anzu cried, though perhaps she wasn't _quite _as surprised as she acted. She'd thought about what might happen if he maybe… But she hadn't ever thought he actually _would_… "As… as not-a-friend?" She checked.

"He's head over heels!" Mai insisted. "How could you not notice…?"

"Oh…" Anzu didn't really know what else to say.

"I think he's going to ask you out sometime soon." Shizuka piped up, moving out of the way so Anzu could distractedly use the hand dryer. "Are you going to say yes?"

"He won't ask me." Anzu replied, awkwardly.

"You're trying to avoid the question again." Mai accused. Anzu sighed in defeat.

"I'm not sure _what _I'd do." She admitted. "I love Yugi to bits, he's my best friend, he's always been there, and I can tell him anything… but…"

"But?"

"It's just…" Anzu trailed off, secretly enjoying drawing out the moment despite her extreme embarrassment.

"There's _not _someone else, is there!" Mai gasped.

"Not exactly." Anzu answered vaguely, stepping away from the dryer and leaning up against the sink. "It's just, there was this boy who lived next door…"

Mai and Shizuka squealed, Anzu covering her ears at the sound, before taking them away to try and stop the torrent of questions threatening to drown her.

"Hold up there. He moved away, like, twelve years ago." Anzu told them. They deflated slightly. She looked down at the floor, wet from water running off the sinks, embarrassed now. "I can't even remember his name, now… But we were best friends. We were inseparable." She laughed slightly. "My dad even had to put a gate in between his garden and mine so we could see each other without having to go all the way around the outside! But then… He had to move. I don't know why, he just had to go. We cried a lot, and I remember my mom saying he was moving far away…" She sighed. "On my birthday, he'd given one of these 'best friends' things." She fingered her half, hidden in her pocket. "And he said that I was his best friend and we'd meet again one day. He promised. And, sometimes, when I'm feeling down, I can't help but fantasize that…" She trailed off, too embarrassed to continue.

"That he'll return, and sweep you off your feet." Mai finished, flatly.

"Yeah." Anzu admitted, blushing again. She knew it was silly. That's why she'd never told anyone about those _particular _daydreams…

"You're going to turn down _Yugi_ for some guy you last saw when you were _three_!" Mai demanded.

"No!" Anzu denied. "Well… I… I don't know, okay! But Yugi would never ask me _now, _anyway! We have exams coming up! And… and all the stuff with my house! I don't need to decide now anyway!" She slipped out of the toilets, desperately embarrassed.

"We _have _to find her a childhood sweetheart." Mai decided.

"Uh…How?" Shizuka asked. "Anzu said he moved 'Far away', _twelve years _ago! He could be anywhere in the world right now! And what if he doesn't remember her? Or already has a girl friend? Or is just a-"

"I never said it had to be _her _childhood sweetheart." Mai pointed out, grinning deviously. "As long as she _thinks _it's him."

"Mai…" Shizuka said, uncomfortably. "Isn't that kinda… lying?"

Mai shrugged. "What she doesn't know can't hurt her…"

"At least let's look for the _real _guy first…" Shizuka pleaded.

"Oh, alright." Mai agreed. "We'll call it… Operation: Lost Love!" She left the toilets to, Shizuka following behind muttering something about terrible names and worse ideas. Mai was certain she had no idea what the girl was talking about.

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A/N: END OF PHASE ONE! Dun dun dun! So… How about some rhetorical questions? I think so. Will Anzu's house be okay? Will Shizuka and Mai discover the identity of her old sweetheart? Will Yugi pluck up the courage to ask her? Will it _rain? _And when will this update? Well, actually, this one isn't rhetorical; I will update as soon as I have Phase Two done, which will either be tomorrow or Monday. Until then, please watch this space!


	2. The Present

A/N: Wow, I can't believe I got this done! _(Too exhausted to celebrate XD)_ It's been 'one of those days' and this is _most defiantly _the longest of the three. 'Tis the main bit, don't y'know. And thanks to **Dragonlady222, **as always, because I was pretty miserable when this got no reviews. And then I got one. And I was happy. So thanks, **Dragonlady**! Oh, yeah... Anzu'sFrench may be bad, but mine's worse. So please forgive any little oversights.

Phase Two: The Present

The offer had been upped again, and fresh notices were appearing through the letterbox everyday as the price climbed higher and higher. One or two houses were now ready to accept. Anzu just wondered why the company wanted this particular street quite so badly.

But she didn't have time to worry about that now. The exams were almost upon them.

"Quel temps fera…" She murmured, pacing back and forth across her room, sending the usually neat display of cushions scattering around like ripples in a pond. "Uh… Quel temps fait… No, Quel temps fera fait… ah…"

Anzu wasn't terribly good at French. How she wished she and Yugi had opted for English like the others…! She paused in her pacing for thought, looking at the small bracelet she was playing with in her fingers. It was large, pink, and rather tacky; a semi-circle on a bright, now fraying, piece of green chord, the word 'FRIEND' written on it. A gift from the boy next door. But today, it held no solution to her problem.

"Quel temps…" She began again. "Um… Quel temps fera-t-il demain...?" She grinned. That was it. "Quel temps fera-t-il demain!"

"Il fera chaud." Yugi replied from the doorway of her room, laughing. "Hey, Anzu. Your mom let me in…"

"Yugi!" She yelled, readying a cushion to toss at him. "If you've come here to tease my _appalling _French…"

"I come in peace!" Yugi insisted, holding up a book to protect himself. "Actually, I came over to see if you wanted to revise together. Uh, revise _French_, maybe."

Anzu threw the cushion at him.

"Okay, okay!" Yugi yelped as she picked up more ammunition from the floor of her room. "I'll just help! I'll be good, promise!"

Anzu laughed, rearranging the cushions into a pile, and pulling out two of the larger for Yugi and herself to sit on. Hey, she _liked _cushions. She plopped heavily down, and, needing no invitation, Yugi did the same- albeit not as harshly. He had broken several cushions like that already.

"We don't have to do French." Anzu said, almost hopefully. "After all, it's hardly like you need the practise!"

"Anzu," Yugi laughed. "The only other lessons we have together are Maths, Literature, and Science. And you hardly need practise at them!" He smiled. "I guessed what it was you may need help on."

She smiled back despite herself. "…Thanks, Yugi. You're a star, you know that?"

"Heh. So are you, Anzu." He reddened slightly, but Anzu didn't seem to notice as he spat out what he was thinking. "But you shine all the brighter."

"Sorry, what?" Anzu asked, having been lost in trying to remember whether 'toast' was masculine or feminine. "Hey, Yugi, how do you-"

She was interrupted by the phone ringing loudly. She cocked her head, trying to hear who her mom was talking to. But she needn't have bothered as her mother's head appeared around the door a second later, holding the telephone out to her with the air of grandeur Anzu had when she was dancing. "Phone for you, Anzu."

"Thanks." Anzu accepted the object in question, indicating to Yugi that it would only take a second. "Hello?"

"Anzu!" Ryou's distinctive accent came out. "You have to help me!" He paused. "Hello."

"Hi." Anzu couldn't help but laugh at the apologetic tone of the last word. "What's the matter, Ryou?"

"Revision." Ryou groaned.

"Tell me about it." Anzu sighed. "I'm trying to do French. 'Trying' being the key word. Luckily, Yugi just showed up to help!" She grinned at the boy in question.

"Ah…" Ryou replied, whimsically. "I never liked French either. C'est trés ennuyeux!"

"…Why can everyone speak French except me…?" Anzu groaned. Ryou, on the other end of the line, and Yugi, in the room, both laughed.

"I can't really." Ryou promised. "I only ever learnt that one phrase. I _believe _it means 'It is extremely boring'. But I may well be wrong. As I said, I didn't like French."

"Ha. Didn't you say you had a problem…?" Anzu wondered. Ryou sighed.

"I was hoping to draw it out so I didn't have to do so much studying…" He admitted. Anzu couldn't help but laugh. Ryou was no slacker, but there had been a time when he would never do anything else when he was struggling with it. He would never have asked for help. He had changed a little over time, to. She supposed having decent friends at last must have a real effect on him, to. He was a lot more confident with them now. Not with people he didn't know, but it was a start. And there was only one subject that he would need Anzu's help in- Music.

"Music." Ryou said, as though hearing her thoughts. It was one of the few classes they shared. Here they were pole opposites. Ryou played his instrument- surprisingly enough, a guitar- very well, but could not get his head around the theory stuff. Anzu, meanwhile, found the theory far easier then the practical- she and her flute had a bit of a love/hate relationship. She should _probably_ practise more. That was the love part. Her flute had currently rolled under the bed, from where it quite possibly wouldn't return. That was the hate part.

"…Anything in particular?" Anzu asked. "Or just 'Music' en general?"

"That was French!" Yugi cried. "Go Anzu!"

"Plainchant." Ryou moaned. "The Monk Music."

"I thought you said in the lesson that it was the easiest bit so far?" Anzu teased, thinking back to the lesson which was a good while back now. "I thought you got it?"

"I _did_." Ryou maintained. "But now I don't. I can't read my notes…" He mourned.

"Sorry, I can't help there." Anzu joked. "I can't read your writing either."

"Well, I only have one thing to say to that." Ryou sniffed. "Je peux parle francais! Ha!"

"Ryou…" Anzu moaned. "You said you couldn't speak French!"

"I lied." Ryou replied, calmly. "And so did you. You understood me perfectly!"

"…I did?" Anzu asked, confused.

"Yes. Now, please…" Ryou begged. "Just tell me what 'a cappella' means…"

"Unaccompanied. No instruments, just voices."

She heard him scratching it down in his rough handwriting.

"And…" She could practically _hear _him squinting at his notes. "Antiphony? I think?"

"In Plainchant? When the song was passed between two choirs at opposite ends of the Church."

Ryou did not reply, although she was fairly sure she faintly heard him mutter 'Oh! It says _Church…_" "Right," He said, returning to the phone. "I better go and try to translate the rest of this."

"Go on then." Anzu said, tolerantly, no more eager to get back to the language of doom. "Good luck, and goodbye!"

"Au revoir!" He said, teasingly.

"Ryou…" She growled, threateningly, but he had already hung up.

"Right then." Yugi smiled, waving a revision guide at her. "You may be able to speak Music, but not French. Shall we?"

"Oui." Anzu sighed, miserably.

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"That's it!" Yugi said, encouragingly. "Bon travail, Anzu!"

"…That means 'Good work', right?" Anzu checked.

"Mais oui!" Yugi smiled, enjoying teasing her.

Anzu paused, trying to work the phrase out, but it was useless. "Okay, I'm lost." She admitted, flopping her head down onto the floor. "What's the French for 'I'm going to fail'…?"

The response came in the form of a loud curse from her Father's mouth as he got in from work.

"I'm guessing that's not it…" Anzu commented, as the two headed to the top of the stairs to see what all the commotion was.

"That retired couple!" He was saying to her alarmed mother. "They sold out. And so have the houses on either side! The moving trucks have come! The company has that entire corner of the road!"

"Sh-" Anzu began, only to have her mother shout over her.

"Anzu Mazaki!" She yelled. "You watch your language! You to!" She said to her husband. "I will not have language like that in the house!"

"Fine!" Anzu yelled back. "Yugi, what's the worst _French_ swear word you know?"

"Um…" Yugi stated, completely unsure of what to do.

"Anzu…" Her mother said, warningly. "Both of you need to calm down. It's not the end of the world." She scooped up the latest offer, the price now so large that it was surprising it all fit on one piece of paper, and screwed it up. "It doesn't matter how many people sell. They can buy up the rest of the street, and we still won't sell. They can build their factory around us, for all I care."

"Speak of the Devil," Yugi put in, suddenly, pointing out of the window where the blue unmarked car was driving up the road again. "Here they are. Passing out more bulletins, from the look of things."

"They can give us all the bulletins they like." Anzu said, sulkily. "I'd like to give _them _a piece of my mind!"

"Then let's go." Anzu's mom shrugged. "Why not? It'll be fun. A structured family outing. You're welcome to join us, Yugi."

"…Okay…" He accepted, still uncertain. A 'Family Outing' with the Mazakis might be quite different to what he was used to.

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Back in the safety of Anzu's room, the two laughed freely, completely unable to stop until tears soaked their faces either from the laughter itself or quite possibly the pain it was causing in their stomachs.

"That…" Yugi gasped, trying not to burst into more gales of laughter. "Was fantastic."

"It _was_ kinda fun." Anzu agreed. "It sure beat French!" She added, cheerily.

"You were awesome, Anzu!" Yugi complimented. "I loved the whole thing with the collecting everyone's notices and chasing the poor guy down the road…"

"Mister! You dropped your paper! Oh, and this one! And this one!" Anzu imitated her earlier statements, laughing again. "And then when Eria and the others came out to help…"

"Hmm…" Yugi commented. "I never thought you could get so many curses into 'We refuse to sell'."

"No." Anzu agreed. "That takes talent."

"I'm surprised your mom didn't have a heart attack…"

"Are you serious! She was with them!" Anzu rolled across the floor, off her back and onto the side. "Still. I thought you did pretty well."

"I didn't do anything." Yugi told her. "You and your family were the stars. Hey, how about when your dad-"

"Don't change the subject." Anzu said, sternly. "Yugi, you ran up and down the street, banging on doors for me. You got the entire street outside. And you got them all chanting that they wouldn't sell. For heavens sake, a _camera crew _showed up!" She sighed happily. "We're gonna be on the local news. Now they _can't _buy us, surely!" She smiled broadly at him. "Yugi… Thank you."

"You're welcome." He replied. "It was fun. We should do it again."

"Yeah, when they come round tomorrow." Anzu agreed. "If they aren't too scared of 'The Mad Mazakis'!"

At this point, Anzu's mom put her head around the door again.

"Yugi," She said, calmly. "Your grandfather just phoned. He'd like to know what you're doing in the background of a local news report rather then at home, cooking dinner like you promised."

"Oh!" Yugi cried. "…Oops."

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Anzu burrowed down further under the covers, relieved to be in bed at last. It had been a fun, but tiring, day. First school, and then dance, and then revising with Yugi, and then scaring the people trying to buy their street, and then fielding the dozens of phone calls from various friends who wanted to know what she had been doing on the television chasing some poor man down the road screaming something about notices as Yugi stood to one side chanting with most of the residents, chanting that they wouldn't sell, and Anzu's parents with a bunch of students shouted abuse the television had to censor. Sleep would be welcome now.

Unfortunately, sleep was not so willing to come. Despite the fact that she was so mentally and physically exhausted, her mind was still doing somersaults around the events of the day. She had to get them out of her mind. And so, she allowed herself to fall back into the most familiar of daydreams. But even that was tainted by the happenings of this long day.

_She was home alone, and the doorbell had rung. Slowly, in a dream-like way, she went downstairs, pausing only to rub a speck of dirt off the banister. The bell rang again, more urgently now. _

_"I'm coming…" Anzu sighed. "Give me chance, I can't-" She opened the door, and the words became motionless on her lips._

_"Anzu…" He said. "I saw you on the news… I'm so glad you still live here…" His eyes, deep and all-consuming, met hers. "Don't you remember me, Anzu? I know it's been a long time, but I…" He stopped, holding up his half of the best friends bracelet, kept in his pocket just as hers was. Hers was in her hand now as she brought it up to complete the circle. He smiled, and Anzu smiled to._

_"…It's been a long time." She said, at last._

_"I know." He sighed. "I… I'm sorry I'm late, Anzu."_

_"I'm just glad you're here now." Anzu replied, being swept up into a hug in his strong arms, a scent hanging just beneath her sense of smell._

_"But you know what they say…" He said, shyly. "Absence makes the heart grow fonder. We were just kids before. But now, we…"_

_"Promise you won't leave again…" Anzu murmured. "I've thought about you so much…"_

_"I won't leave again. Ever. I promise." He replied. _

_"You keep that promise." Anzu said, fiercely._

_"Why wouldn't I?" He chuckled. "After all, I kept this one. Even after almost twelve years…"_

_"Twelve years when the leaves fall off the trees." Anzu added, _as the real Anzu rolled over, sighing slightly, and settled down into sleep. The rest of the fantasy fell under the distorting veil of dreams. She still hadn't clearly seen what he looked like, or what he sounded like. When she woke up, she was left only with vague memories of being asked what the French word for 'a cappella' was, chasing a man down the road, and the feeling that nothing would ever go wrong again. She should enjoy the feeling while it lasted.

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"Yugi, is something wrong?" Anzu asked, concerned. Yugi, even though he knew Anzu had dance lessons that night, had come back to her house under the pretence of helping her with French again, but had seemed very distracted. Then, when she had said she had to leave to walk down to the dance studio, he had quietly offered to walk her down. She had known him a long time, and could see that he was not his usual self. She had been expecting him to come right out with it, but this time he didn't, and so she had patiently waited for him to spit it out. They were so close… they usually told each other everything without hesitation. This had to be really bad. She had been planning on just chatting with him normally until he worked himself up to it, but now they were only moments away from her dance studio and he still hadn't told her. As they reached the steps up to the door, she had known that she couldn't go in without finding out what was worrying him. They stood off to one side, slightly apart from the other students, but in her concern, she only had eyes for him. "No, I _know _something's wrong. What is it?"

"Anzu, I…" Yugi looked away. "I'm scared." He answered, eventually.

"Yugi…" She whispered. Goodness knows after all the physcos he'd been up against, he would have some nightmares. "It's okay, it's alright, it's fine. I mean, we've been through so much in the past… We've all been scared to death. But you don't need to be. 'Cause, you know, you've managed to be so brave and defeat them all. And you'll always have us. So even though you're scared, just know we-"

"Anzu." He said again, stopping her in mid-friendship flow. "It's not them I'm scared of. It's you."

"Me?" She echoed in surprise. "But… why?"

"Oh, you're much scarier then anyone we've ever fought." Yugi smiled awkwardly. "Because in a minute, I'm finally going to work up the courage to admit that I… admit how I feel, and I'm going to ask you out. And I am absolutely terrified that you'll say no."

Anzu stared at him in shock. _Oh, my life…_She thought, numbly. _They were right, he _did _ask me. He really did…_ Apart from that, she just felt relieved that no-one was in any serious danger.

She realised how long she had been gawping in surprise, and that she had to say something. She still didn't know what. She was still too numb to know how she felt. "Yugi, I…"

"Anzu!" One of the dance students called, loudly, running over her words. "Come on, or we'll be late! And we're having the guest in today! I heard he is _hot_!" She continued running up the steps. "Anzu, move it!" She screamed again, but the girl barely even spared her glance. She ran back down the steps and began dragging the hapless Anzu up into the studio. Yugi laughed slightly and waved, walking away. And even though she hadn't had chance to answer, he felt he knew what she would have said.

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"One, two, three…" Ryou said to himself, because there was no-one else there to hear. "One, two, three…" He waved the pen in front of him, conducting in the way he'd been shown a good few years ago now. "Galliard. One, two, three. Right. Pavane…" He glanced down at his notes. "Five beats to a bar. Okay." He readied the pen he was attempting to conduct his invisible orchestra with. "One, two, three, four, five…" He frowned at his notes again. "Now, that doesn't seem right…" He commented to the potted plant in the corner. "Perhaps it's a four. What do you think?" He turned the large folder around so the plant could see. Unsurprisingly, he got no response. Thankfully, it was at that point, the buzzer on the door rang, barely audible over the radio in the corner. "The door! Hallelujah!" Ryou declared, climbing up to answer it. "Anzu!"

"Ryou! Hope you're not still sore, although that fall down the stairs _was _hilarious! I was on my way back from Dance, but I figured I'd come help you out with music…" She explained, stepping in and putting down her bag with her dance stuff in before pulling out her own bulky music folder. "I assume you're studying hard for the music test next week?" She asked, in mock sternness. Ryou nodded and began to lead her into the living room. "By the way… It still hasn't rained."

"There's another week to go yet." Ryou said confidently as he pushed the lounge door open. "Give it time." Anzu entered to see that Ryou also revised on the floor, judging by the huge number of sheets and scraps of paper spewing out of the luminous green music folder. She could even see the gap just beside a potted plant where he had presumably been lying on his stomach. Ryou hastily began to pile things up, making space for her sit down on the floor with him. The song on the radio, something by the Dire Straits, played itself out and the announcer came back on with none of the usual gibbering these stations had between tracks.

"That was the Ultimate Air Guitar Anthems." He said. "If you missed it, well, _where have you been! _But fear not, because we have a great selection coming up- This is the best in Love Songs for all you couples and you lonely hearts out there. Let's start as we mean to go on- it's Bryan Adams, 'Everything I do, I do it for you'."

"I love this song." Anzu said, sitting down on the now-available floor space.

"I probably shouldn't admit it, but so do I." Ryou agreed, picking up his folder. "Now, tell me, is this a four or a five?"

"Personally…" Anzu replied, staring at where he was pointing, "I think it looks like a car crashed into a lamppost. Wow, they should use your writing instead of an inkblot test, Ryou."

"Oh, do be quiet." He replied, not sounding particularly annoyed. "No, on the second thought, tell me how many beats in a bar a Pavane has."

"Four." Anzu said, flipping her own folder open to the Dance music section.

The time passed slowly, in companionable silence. Ryou did not feel the need to be talking all the time, and, in comparison to the noise of school and the dance studio, that was just fine with Anzu. The silence was occasionally broken by Ryou asking about something or her opinion on what something said, but mostly the only sounds came from the ticking of the clock, the music on the radio, and Ryou himself, who, despite his shyness, had never seemed to be capable of sitting still. He was constantly fidgeting around, wiggling his shoeless feet, or strumming his fingers on the floor, playing with his hair or a pen, and, when he quite simply began rolling around slightly, rocking from one side to the other, Anzu couldn't help but say something.

"Ryou. Can't you sit still for _five minutes?_" She asked, in mock irritation, as the final verse of 'When September Ends' played out into the room. She had found out by now, of course, that he never did. Perhaps it was just a nervous twitch.

"Sorry." He replied, sheepishly, now having flipped over and was lying on his back, his bangs falling away and showing his full face for once. He looked strange, upside down like that. "I've always been like this."

"You never seemed the hyper sort." Anzu replied, unable to stop her mouth from creeping a little higher up her face.

"I'm not." Ryou informed her, rolling back over again and resting his head on his arms. "It's just when I'm bored. I was chronically shy when I was little and-"

"Like you're not now…"

"_And,_" He continued, forcefully. "I was forced to participate in all sorts of special learning activities to 'build my confidence'. But they were all _doing _activities, there was very little reading or writing. It's had quite an effect on my development." He sighed seriously, although the way he was aimlessly kicking his legs in the air seemingly without noticing ruined the effect slightly. "As you can see, I can't sit still. And I'm a kinetic learner." He added as an afterthought. "So I _need _movement to revise, see?"

"I'll bet." Anzu replied. They had all taken the 'Learning Type' test in form time. She herself had been a visual learner. But Ryou…

"Well, then." She said, as some advert for the station played. "I better help you learn how to…" She looked at his folder to see what he was reading. "To waltz."

"What?" Ryou paled slightly, sitting up. Anzu, meanwhile, leapt to her feet.

"Yeah, come on, Mr Kinetic Learner, this'll be good revision for you!"

"…I think I'll just read it!" Ryou insisted. "It'll be fine, Anzu, really."

But he should have known Anzu would not take no for an answer. As the next song started- Darius, 'I'm Not Buying'. It wasn't a very good song, really, and the station should have known better then to play it- he found himself, quite unwittingly, ready to waltz with a girl around his living room, who seemed oblivious to his embarrassment. Darius, to, seemed uncaring about how uncomfortable a situation his song had put Ryou in.

"So many times we find ourselves, we're looking just about anywhere but in each others eyes- I'm wondering why…So many chances brushed and wasted, so many matches almost won, at injury time, nobody cried…" He sung, sounding incredibly insincere to the he who was trying not to think about what he was doing. It seemed to be working. He had two left feet even more so then usual…

"Normally a waltz would only have 3 beats, but we'll just have to pretend." She instructed, knowing the song had four in a bar. "Now, start with your left… right… together…And I'll do the opposite, see? No, Ryou, now your right. _Right, _Ryou!"

"Sorry."

"Well, we can reach! And we can climb!" Darius interrupted, annoyed at being ignored as the two moved slowly in circles around the room, trying to avoid sofas and sheets alike, but, as they concentrated on the movement, ignoring both. "And we can hold on by our feelings to what is right… I'm holding out for you, reaching out for you…"

"That's it…" Anzu whispered, from her position next to his ear, his skin tickling under his breath. "Now you're getting the hang of it." She laughed. "Well, don't worry. You're certainly more graceful then Yugi and Jou were when I tried to teach them…"

"Ah, good…" Ryou replied, slightly distracted. He had personal space issues, and here was Anzu with her head pressed up against the soft cushion of his hair, just the right height to reach his shoulder, her head the right size to apparently rest there comfortably…

"Do you want me to stop?" Anzu asked, pulling away just enough to see how awkward he was with the entire affair.

Ryou wanted to say no. He nodded, and Anzu let go, sitting back down and picking up her folder.

"Thank you." Ryou said, a little uncertainly, sitting back down to and trying to get his thoughts back on his notes.

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"Is Anzu even home?" Shizuka asked uncertainly, trailing behind Mai up the road, scurrying slightly closer as a man across the road shot them a suspicious look. Did they really look so threatening…?

"Nope." Mai replied, easily. "She's got dance, and then I think she's planning on going over to Ryou's. So we've got ages."

"Are you _sure _we should do this when she's not home?" Shizuka asked, worriedly. She still wasn't certain about doing this. After all, if Anzu wanted to chase after her so-called 'Childhood sweetheart', surely she would have done so by now. And as for Mai's plan, of if they couldn't find him, making it up… Well, that just seemed so wrong… "Don't you think if we're going to do this, Anzu would want to know?"

"Probably." Mai shrugged. "Now, let's see if anyone's home." She strode up Anzu's front path and rang the bell before Shizuka had time to argue. It was Anzu's mom, still in her work clothes, who came to the door, smiling when she saw them.

"Oh, hello girls." She said, calm as ever. "I'm afraid Anzu's not home at the moment. Perhaps I could tell her to phone when she gets back?"

"Actually," Mai smiled. "It's _you _we wanted to talk to. We were just wondering if you could help us with something."

"Well, I'll certainly try…" She answered uncertainly, stepping aside to let them in. "What was it you needed?"

"Oh, we were just wondering if you could remember the name of the family who used to live next door."

Anzu's mom looked blank. "Huh?" She lead them into the sunny blue kitchen, where a radio station was playing the week's number one. Sunlight streamed in through the windows, bouncing off every reflective surface and making them look as though they were glowing white-hot. It flooded over the surfaces, running over onto the floor and filling that to, warm as a hot spring. It felt delicious. But they could not get distracted from the task at hand. They were offered a drink, but both declined.

"We really just want to know the name of the family, we're kinda in a hurry." Mai explained, apologetically. Shizuka had decided to leave the talking to her. "You know. The one that lived next door when Anzu was little. She was friends with the boy…"

"Ah, yes." Her face cleared as she bounced her head slightly in time with the music, not at all uncomfortable. "But… Oh, goodness, what was their name now…? I was never really that friendly with them, it was just Anzu and their son…" She laughed brightly, and Shizuka noticed that she really was a lot like Anzu. The laugh, the openness, it was all the same. "Dear me, you'd think I'd recall the boy's name, the amount of times I had to listen to Anzu rabbit on about him! Doesn't she remember?"

Shizuka shook her head, finally speaking. "No. That's why we came to ask you. We're just curious as to who he was."

"Well…" She sighed. "I think the family's name began with a 'B'… That's not much help, I know, but I seem to remember calling the woman 'Mrs B' before she died."

"She died?" Mai asked. Anzu hadn't mentioned that… Maybe she couldn't remember. _'He had to move. I don't know why, he just had to go. We cried a lot, and I remember my mom saying he was moving far away…'_. That's what Anzu had said, wasn't it? "Is that why they moved away?"

"It might have been." She shrugged. "Grief does funny things to people. He was always a quiet man, and then when his wife died, he was almost completely reclusive… As I said, we didn't know them very well. We didn't even go to the funeral. For heaven's sake, if I can remember all this, _why _can't I remember his name! I'm sorry, girls… It's just been a long time."

"It's okay." Mai said, looking pensive. "Anything else?"

"Hmm…" She frowned. "No. They were a fairly ordinary family. Two parents, two kids… Nothing else springs to mind."  
"Oh, well, thanks." Mai shrugged, but made no move to leave. Only the man on the radio seemed to have anything to say.

"…and if you can tell me what song this lyric is from, you'll be off for a three-night trip in a health spa, all expenses paid, in the beautiful Kyoto district!" He was saying, enthusiastically. "So, remember, if you think you know the song all you have to do is call! And here's our _mystery lyric _for today…" He paused slightly, before saying: "'Fly away, swim the ocean blue, drive that open road, leave the past behind you'. That's 'Fly away, swim the ocean blue, drive that open road, leave the past behind you'. If you think you know the answer, all you have to do is call…" He began rattling off a series of numbers.

Anzu's mom snorted. "Like anyone's gonna know it." She said. "They deliberately choose little-known songs. Like that one. I mean, who listening to this radio will have ever even _heard _of it?"

Shizuka blinked. "Then you know what it is?"

"Of course, because I'm part of the minority who will. But what I mean is the audience of this station is hardly likely to-"

"Phone in!" Mai cried. "You could win the holiday!"

Anzu's mom laughed. "Oh, Mai, an old fool like me wouldn't be given it. It's designed for younger people."

But Mai had already dialled the number for her, and, as they left, she was waiting, looking bewildered, to go on air. For some reason, she was tidying her hair. They left her in peace, going outside and stopping on the street corner to gather their thoughts.

"Right." Mai said, picking dirt out from under her nails. "What have we got?"

"Um…" Shizuka considered. "Someone with only one parent, their dad; and a younger sibling, and a family name that _possibly _begins with a 'B'."

Mai clicked her fingers. "Ah. We should have asked if it was a brother or a sister! Oh well…" She smirked. "And we know from Anzu that when they moved it was 'far away'. So. Who do we know who fits all the criteria…?"

Shizuka blinked again. The way the question was said made it sound as if Mai had worked out who it was, just from that little bit of information. "We know someone?" She asked.

Mai nodded, leaning in. "Oh, come on, Shizuka… Figure it out…" She knocked on the top of her head. "Come on! Anyone in there? Who do we know with a 'B' surname?"

"Ryou!" Shizuka gasped, cottoning on. "But… what about the rest of it?"

"He moved 'far away'." Mai pointed out, looking very pleased with herself. "As in, _England _far away! But as for the dad and younger sibling thing… Well, you tell me. I've hardly spoken to the boy."

"Well…" Shizuka considered, trying to remember if she'd ever been told. "He's never mentioned his mom… I have heard him say something about his dad, though."

"And?" Mai asked, quietly, excitedly. "Does he have a brother or sister?"

"He…" Shizuka smiled. "I think he has a sister. Oh, Mai, do you really think it could be him?" She gasped. "I mean, he's been under Anzu's nose for a good while now… Wouldn't one of them have…?"

"She doesn't remember _his _name." Mai pointed out. "And you know what that boy's like! He wouldn't have mentioned any childhood friend to Anzu any more then she would have mentioned it to him! So there's a good chance- he fits perfectly!"

But Mai was wrong. Because Anzu was mentioning it to Ryou, at that precise moment, as it happened.

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Neither had said a word since they had finished dancing, and neither had turned a page in their notes even as they stared so intently at them. Something had passed between them and both found it terribly distracting, though they could not say what it was.

Anzu peeped at Ryou over the top of her folder. He was rocking back and forth slightly in time with the song that was playing. He was still slightly red, and was still avoiding looking at her. She must have made him really uncomfortable. She had just been trying not to think about what answer she would give Yugi. In dance, she could loose all sense of self, forget all her worries and cares. After she had finished, the protective film had fallen away, and she'd run here, to seek sanctuary at Ryou's- hoping that if she ran fast enough she could run away from having to make a decision. But they had caught up with her, and she wanted to dance again, dragging poor old Ryou into it. He wasn't that confident, even with her, yet. She didn't even know why she hadn't just agreed with Yugi straight away. She had been ready to say yes, but something had stopped her; something that she hadn't seen for twelve years and couldn't remember the name of. It was so stupid. She was treating Yugi like this, and…

"Anzu, isn't that your mom?" Ryou asked suddenly, glad for the chance to break the awkward silence.

"Huh?" Anzu asked, still caught up in her predicament.

"On the radio. Listen." He said.

"So, do you have an answer for us?" The presenter was asking.

"I… think so." The caller said, slowly. Anzu started to pay full attention.

"It _is _my mom!" She yelped. "What's she doing on the radio!"

"Naming a lyric, I think." Ryou replied, cocking his head slightly to listen.

"Is it 'Reach', by S-Club 7?" She asked.

There was a dramatic pause.

"It is indeed!" The presenter said. "You and one other person are going to a Health Spa in Kyoto! How does that sound?"

"…Wonderful! Thank you!"

"Well, you just hold onto the phone and someone will come straighten out the details, but, for the rest of you, here's 'Reach'…"

"I don't believe it…" Anzu muttered. It seemed strange that her own mother could be concentrating on a radio call-in instead of on _her _when her best friend had just asked her out and she didn't know what to do. Of course, her mother had no way of knowing the afternoon's events, but now she had some Health Spa trip to look forward to, and all Anzu had was exams, giving Yugi an answer, and someone trying to buy her house… She looked to the window. It was bright and sunny as always, with a small gathering of fluffy white clouds. By rights, it should have been raining. The weather was so uncaring… But if it wasn't raining, then why was her face wet…?

"Anzu…?" Ryou said, uncertainly. She turned, and he could see that he was right, she was crying. If possible, he felt even more awkward then before. "Hey…" He said, quietly. "What's up? Your mom just won. You should be happy, right?"

"I know." Anzu muttered, wiping her face on her jacket sleeve. "I'm sorry…"

"It's alright." Ryou promised, appearing next to her with a box of disposable tissues. "But… if you don't mind my asking, whatever's the matter? Have I-"

"Oh, Ryou, of course you haven't." Anzu sighed, wiping her face. "But it's nothing." She lent back onto the sofa behind her, and Ryou did the same, for once not fiddling with anything. His focus was on her. He didn't say anything. It obviously wasn't nothing. So he waited for her. "Well, it's not nothing… But it's so silly. That's what makes it worse. I'm in a silly mess and it's even stupider that I don't know what to do to sort it out."

"Oh, then perhaps I could help." Ryou told her. "I'm forever in a mess. I seem to get out of one, and then fall slap-bang into another one." Anzu giggled slightly, her short crying spurt wearing itself out. "And I'm fairly certain you won't be the silly one. It's probably just the world that's being silly, and we're unfortunate enough to be caught up in it."

"That's true." Anzu sniffed. "But I think it might be me this time…" She swallowed hard. "Yugi asked me out. You know. As not-a-friend."

Ryou studied her for a moment, but she just rested her head on her knees and offered no more elaboration. Apparently Anzu was the sort who needed questions to be asked so she could sort her own erratic thoughts out.

"I'm sorry," He began. "But I'm afraid I haven't had an awful amount of experience. Is that a bad thing?"

"No. Yes." Anzu answered. "Now I have to figure out how I feel about him. And I've never known. Ever. And now I have to give him an answer."

"I'm guessing you don't know what to say?"

"No." Anzu admitted. "I mean, I can't see any reason why I shouldn't say yes. He's sweet and loyal and brave, and kind, and I've known him forever. He would do anything for anyone, he's always smiling… and, well, I've always loved him to bits. So there's no reason not to say yes."

"Anzu…" Ryou said, slowly. "As I said, I don't know a terrible amount about this kind of thing, but don't you think that if you're _looking _for a reason to say no, you… well, should?"

"But I _do _know why I want to say no!" Anzu told him suddenly. "And it's stupid! And I shouldn't let it hold me back. But…" Slowly, she spilled the entire story, and Ryou sat quietly and listened, making no comment or judgement. She appreciated that so much, but by the end she was desperate for him to just tell her what to do. "Twelve years is too long, right? So I should just give up on him…"

Ryou shook his head, slowly. "I don't know, Anzu. But I do think that we're dealing with two separate situations."

She blinked. "What? But, Ryou, the reason I'm not sure about Yugi is-"

"Yes, but… Anzu, if you felt that strongly for him, I doubt it would matter." Ryou said, awkwardly. He wasn't in good in conversation at the best of times, especially at times like this. But he really did just want to help Anzu. "But I don't know. Maybe you do like him as… What was it you said? 'Not-a-Friend', and maybe you don't. Either way, I don't think it would be very fair to act on that if you weren't completely certain."

"No, I guess it wouldn't…" Anzu said, slowly, tilting her head back so it was on the seat of the sofa. She would've been looking at the ceiling, had her eyes not been closed. She still had to talk to Yugi. But at least now she knew what she was going to say. That was three-quarters of the race done. "Thanks, Ryou." She muttered. She opened one eye to look at him. "At least you're better at giving advice then you are at the waltz."

He sniffed indignantly. "And at least you're better at the waltz then you are at French." He shot back.

"Say…" Anzu said, sitting up and facing him fully. "I don't suppose you would talk to Yugi for me, would you?"

"No, I will not."

"Could I convince you?"

"You haven't a hope in Hell."

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By the time Anzu had made it home, feeling a little happier, her dad was back from work as well as her mom, and they were just about to put dinner out. Anzu dumped her stuff, changed out of her uniform, and began to lay the table.

"Anzu!" Her mother said, having got all the necessary pleasantries out of the way when Anzu had first come through the door. "Guess what I did today…"

"Um…" Anzu pretended to ponder. "The laundry? Went to work? Painted the door to my room so I got paint all over my hand when I touched the handle? Saved the world from disaster? Won a radio phone-in for a three-night trip for two for a health spa in Kyoto?"

Her mom blinked for a second, then laughed. "Well, yes, actually. All those things. Except saving the world. How did you know?" She pouted. "I was looking forward to a dramatic revelation."

"We heard you on the radio." Anzu said, sitting down as her dad brought the food in. "So. I assume you and dad are abandoning me for Kyoto?"

"Actually, Anzu," Her mom smiled. "I did wonder if you would like to come with me. A mom-and-daughter thing, you know? It's far posher then we could afford normally."

Anzu gawped at her. It seemed the day was finally looking up…

"Unfortunately," Her father continued, "She was then told that she has to leave tomorrow and remembered that not only do you have school, your exams are coming up. So she's dragging me along instead."

"Oh…" Anzu sighed, mindlessly eating. It would have been nice to have been able to just skip out the next day.

"So, Anzu." Her mom said, trying to break the ensuing silence. "What have you been up to today?"

"Not much."

"Oh, but you usually have so many stories about your friends! Isn't there even, oh, I don't know, even some tale of woe about Jonouchi's stupidity?"

"Not really…"

"Oh, come on Anz…" Her father wheedled. "Give us a run down of the day…"

"Alright." Anzu smiled slightly. "Well, I got up, practised a little for dance, went to school, got two As on my reports, heard a lot about the exams, watched Jou choke on a ping-pong ball, a paper clip, and a chip- but not at once- tried to speak French, tried not to laugh when Ryou fell down the stairs outside drama, argued with Kaiba when _he _laughed at Ryou falling down the stairs outside drama, came here, revised French with Yugi, went to dance, got asked out by Yugi, was complimented on my dancing by a hot guy who had come in to do a demonstration but was too distracted to notice, went over to Ryou's, revised music, waltzed around his living room, heard you on the radio, had an emotional crisis, got it more or less sorted, and came home."

"…I thought you said nothing had happened." Her mom commented, dryly, before moving on to quiz her daughter on each individual event. As it was, she completely forgot to tell Anzu that two of her friends had nipped in asking questions about someone she used to know.

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"There she goes…" Shizuka muttered to her companion as Anzu emerged from the block of flats Ryou lived in and began to walk away.

"And here we go!" Mai added, cheerily, dragging her into the building Anzu had just left, and up a flight or two or stairs to Ryou's flat. How she knew where he lived when she hardly knew him was quite beyond Shizuka. But, then again, she wouldn't put anything past the blond as she banged down Ryou's buzzer. He opened the door a moment later, probably thinking Anzu had forgotten something and come back for it.

"Oh, hello!" He said, smiling in surprise. "If you're looking for Anzu, I'm afraid you've just missed her…"

"No, we were looking for you." Mai said, happily, pushing her way in. Shizuka followed a little more apologetically, and Ryou closed the door behind them.

"Me? Why?"

"_Because_," Mai answered with a huge grin. "We have something important to tell you!"

Ryou looked vaguely confused, but just said, politely "Well, then I suppose you should tell me."

"The girl you used to live next door to…" Mai said, with a relish. "Was Anzu!"

Ryou merely blinked. "…What…?"

This was not the reaction Mai had been expecting, but she forged on anyway.

"Come on, Ryou!" She yelled. "When you were really little! You lived next door to her and were really good friends- you gave her one of those little bracelet thingies and there was a gate between your gardens, and all you have to do is tell Anzu and you can be a crazy fairy-tale type couple and live happily ever after! Okay?"

Ryou's expression cleared slightly. After all, he'd been told about this only slightly earlier that afternoon. What he did not know was why Mai suddenly thought it was him. "Mai, I _never _lived next door to Anzu." He stated calmly. "I was born in England, not here. In fact, I didn't live next door to _anyone _in the early parts of my life. I lived down on the coast." He paused, but Mai said nothing, and neither did Shizuka, they just looked at each other with a mixed expression. "I can assure you, whoever this 'mystery' person of Anzu's is, it's not me."

"But…" Mai began. "Well…Are you sure?"

"I know where Anzu lives, Mai." Ryou replied gently. "Surely, if I _was _him, I would have mentioned it by now."

Shizuka smirked. "Well, don't say I didn't warn you." She said to Mai.

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It was the day before the exams started. It was also the day before Anzu's parents got back from their trip. So, really, it was a toss-up between some serious revision and some serious cleaning of the house. Anzu's parents didn't really mind mess- they thought it made a house 'cosy'- so when Anzu wanted a serious spring clean, she needed to do it when they were out of the way. Like now.

Besides, if she read through one more French sheet, she would scream. And she would do so in Japanese. _Not _French.

And so, all that day, as the sky outside went from a deep blue to a murky grey, the spattering of clouds banding together and drying out the ocean blue, Anzu polished and vacuumed and swept and mopped and wiped and scraped and everything else she could think of. By mid-afternoon, she was ready to call it quits. At this point she smelt like at least a dozen different cleaning products, her hair was falling out of the band that she'd used to tie it out of her way, and her clothes were covered in grime. She wrinkled her nose when she caught sight of herself in a mega-polished surface. It wrinkled more as she caught a whiff of herself. Cleaning was hard work, but rewarding. At least now the house was gleaming- even if she herself was not. There was just one thing that needed to be done, and that would only take a second. She strode purposefully into the kitchen and began wrestling the bin liner out of the bin, trying not to spill any of the rubbish contained therein. Finally, she managed to shake it out, tying the top into a deft knot. The bin men weren't due to come round for another day or to yet, though; so she'd just have to dump it into the trailer.

Brought at the height of the Mazaki's love of camping, the trailer was not much more then a large wooden box on wheels, with a now-ripping tarpaulin stretched over the top, secured with elastic. It sat on a slightly raised platform on the front garden, meaning the lawn was slightly smaller then average and also that the trailer was almost as big as Anzu herself was. She put the bag down on the front step and began the usual battle with the age-old elastic chords. As she struggled, she was facing the house next door, and she froze.

There was someone standing in front of the house, _his _house. And he was no University student.

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A/N: Mwhahaha. What can I say? Dun dun dunnnnn!

Now then, now then, then, then, then, now, now then! I am going on a _long _hike type walk thing tomorrow to Wednesday in the Cotsworlds. Now, while I did my UTMOST to have the last _little _phase done for tomorrow to ask someone to upload, my backpack did not co-operate. _(pout) _I seriously doubt I'll be able to get it done tonight. So it shall probably be Thursday or Friday. Mwhahaha again.

Duke of Edinburgh Award. Someone tell me why I signed up for this…


	3. The Future

A/N: Whee, got this done! Considering how much I overslept and then going out, I'm rather impressed with myself… _(Smirks) _Now, I need to wrap up the A/Ns and go to bed… Thanks for your reviews, everyone! Loff you all:D

Disclaimer: Me no own, you no sue…

Phase Three: The Future

Anzu didn't know what he was doing here, but one thought faded through the surprise of seeing him- that she didn't want _him _to see _her, _not like she was now, holding a bin liner so full of rubbish that it was liable to split, fighting with a ripped tarpaulin, covered in grime and generally just not ready for him. He hadn't noticed her yet, still deep in thought. She tugged harder on the elastic securing the tarpaulin over the top of the trailer, hoping to get the bin bag in and get back inside the house, but all that succeeded in doing was tearing the cover more, the sound of splitting material making him turn.

"Mazaki." He snarled in his usual way, though perhaps an iota less sneering and a tiny bit of surprise. "What are you doing here?" He demanded.

Anzu glared at him, stepping back from the trailer and, in the process, knocking over the rubbish bag at her feet. The rubbish spilled out over the lawn, but perhaps if she pretended not to notice, Seto Kaiba wouldn't either. Or maybe she could just distract him with a response.

"I _happen _to live here." She answered, stonily. "So _I _should be the one demanding to know what _you're _doing here."

Of course, she was fairly sure she knew already.

"Since when?" Kaiba shot back, ignoring everything but her first sentence.

"Since I was born!" She yelled at him. "And if you're not going to tell me what you're doing here, I'll have to guess. Because, as far as I'm aware, _yours _is the only 'local business' with the sort of money to try and buy this street! _You _are the only CEO I know who wouldn't have found another site by now because it's got into the news and now it's a matter of pride for you!" His lack of reaction, despite a dirty look, told her all she needed to know. Anzu's fists clenched into balls. "After all," She hissed. "What else would you be doing here? Mixing with the 'poor' people? Well, we're _not _as badly off as you may think. Nor are we so desperate for cash that we would-" She was cut off as, at the corner of the road, the usual car turned in to hand out more bulletins, although the staff were different- the others had been scared off. Anzu gave up on that sentence and began another one. "Oh, I'll leave you to it. You'll want to find out why those guys in the car haven't managed to make us sell yet, right? Watch them give us all more notices. But look at what happens to them." She pointed at the rubbish blowing around her front garden in the slight breeze. Most of it was made up of tiny scraps of paper, the remains of the offers that had been massacred in various ways. "Most of them," Anzu added "We recycled. But there wasn't room in the box for those ones."

Kaiba still said nothing, just stood there, watching her. He looked pretty dramatic, against the backdrop of the overcast grey sky, his hair and trademark coat ruffling slightly in the wind that was starting to pick up. His face was like the sky. The sun in it had long since been smothered by clouds, if it had ever been there to begin with. The only patches of blue were his eyes.

Seeing as he had nothing to say, Anzu abandoned the litter sweeping around the lawn for the moment and went back inside, feeling angrier then she had for a long time. And she really hoped that Kaiba wasn't going to cause any more trouble then he already had by trying to buy her street. She began to feel slightly nervous as well as angry. Now that he'd be more then a little annoyed with her, she didn't fancy her chances alone. She would feel better if someone came over. So she headed over to the phone, and dialled a number.

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Seto Kaiba was not often left in disbelief. He always knew what to do, what the best course of action was. But, this time, he did not. Look what she had reduced him to. Even when he'd seen on the local news the men being chased down his street by a girl, he hadn't connected it with Anzu Mazaki. Yugi, however, had been unmistakable, and he had wondered what he had been doing there. He should've guessed.

But despite what Anzu believed, he was not the one doing the buying. He was, in fact, someone she had once been very close to. He was, essentially, the boy who lived next door. Only, he was not. Time changes many things. And that boy was gone.

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As the telephone rang, Anzu realised what she had done. By phoning Yugi, she either had to tell him on the phone or wait till he came round and talk to him then. Neither sounded good. But it had to be done. After all, Ryou had said that he wouldn't do it.

Then again, maybe Yugi wasn't the best person to phone. He was a dear, but whenever he and Kaiba were in the same vicinity, sparks flew. It was the 'sparks' that she was trying to avoid… But it was too little, too late. Already, Yugi's cheery voice was coming down the receiver.

"Hello, Kame- I mean, Hi." He said. Anzu laughed. Yugi had always lived in the flat above the shop, and even though they now had separate phone numbers for the phone in the shop and the one upstairs, he still couldn't break the habit of answering every call by announcing the name of the shop.

"Hey, Yugi." She said, suddenly feeling nervous about talking to him.

"Anzu!" He said, only a tiny bit of his discomfort managing to sneak into carefully veiled voice. "…Is everything alright?"

"Well…" She began, uncertainly, throwing a look to where Kaiba was still hanging around outside. "I… it's nothing, everything's fine." She made a decision. "I just wanted to apologise for freaking out on you like that on Friday. I didn't see it coming, that's all."

"It's okay." He replied, the discomfort now revealing itself fully. Anzu said nothing. It had all seemed so clear when she was discussing it with Ryou. But now, speaking to Yugi again, her heart and her head were in turmoil. She didn't know how to begin. But, it seemed, Yugi did. "Anzu." He said, quietly. "Just say no."

"Yugi…"

"Anzu," He replied. "Please, I promise. It won't be as bad as you think. Just say it. Please, just get it over and done with."

"I… Yugi, I can't- well, I won't, I guess- go out with you." Anzu felt terrible saying it.

After a slight pause, Yugi answered "Well, I'm glad we got that out of the way. To be honest, I always knew… But hey, I had to ask, or it would have bugged me forever."

"I just wish I could say yes." Anzu sighed. "You're a wonderful person Yugi. And you'd make someone very happy. I love being friends with you, I love having you around… I just wish I could say yes, but I can't. Because I'm not sure if I do… well."

"Well." Yugi agreed. "So… As I said, I'm glad we got that done. These past few days, when I haven't seen you, I was worried that… But we can go back to normal now, right?"

"Of course!" Anzu answered without hesitation. She didn't feel so bad about things now. She was as relieved as Yugi that it was done. It would seem he had known she would say no, but just had to try. So he wouldn't have something asking 'What if' in his ear for the rest of his life. And he understood completely. Which just made her wish even more that she could have said yes. What a mess it all was. If only she could like him more then as a friend. He was such a great person… if only, if only. The fact is, she didn't. She hadn't been sure for a long time, but she knew now. She only hoped that Ryou was right, and that when she met someone she really loved, she would forget all about the boy who used to live next door. She wanted to stop thinking about him, she really did. It wasn't even like, at that age, their relationship had been anything more then a friendship. But she just couldn't help…

Thinking of Ryou, he would probably be a good one to talk to about the Kaiba situation. He was probably the only one who wouldn't go and pick a fight…

"Yugi, I kinda hafta go…" She said, regretfully.

"That's alright." He replied, sounding almost his usual self. "Just… Anzu, thank you for being honest with me. I'd rather you said no then you went out with me because you'd feel bad if you didn't. So don't worry."

How did he know _exactly _what she had been thinking!

"And one other thing. When you _do _find someone you like, don't hold back, okay? Not for my sake, and not for anyone else's'. I would hate that. Even if you find him tomorrow."

Anzu could feel tears coming to her eyes. He was unbelievable. Truly unbelievable. "Yugi… you rock." She declared. Yugi just laughed.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Anzu."

"Bye, Yugi." She hung up, feeling ever so slightly better. She certainly had some awesome friends. One person who didn't, however, was still hanging around outside, under the grey clouds. That was a little freaky. She began to dial Ryou's number, but not even Seto Kaiba threatening her home could take away from the happiness and relief slowly growing inside her. She had sorted one problem, at least, out. And so at least one thing was going to be alright. And she knew that as long as her friends were there, everything would be in the end.

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At Ryou's flat, the person in question was sleeping more soundly then he had done in a long time. He was fine in the day time; he could usually find something to keep himself occupied, or when he was with Anzu and his other friends, he couldn't be happier. He could talk to them, but what he liked was that he didn't have to. They didn't mind him being quiet and not saying much. He _was _trying to be more talkative and not quite so 'distant' all the time, and he seemed to be doing pretty well at it. He was usually quite hyper in the day time to, because of all the sugar and caffeine he had in the morning to wake himself up. He needed waking up in the mornings, because he didn't sleep all that well. He'd been able to deal with the nightmares a lot better more recently, because he wasn't so scared any more- at least, not when he woke up- that he couldn't go back to sleep. It was just waking up periodically every night, having to change the sheets because of the cold sweat that drenched them almost every morning, that was getting tiresome. But even that was getting better. If he woke up from a bad dream and went back to sleep, he rarely had another one. Occasionally he would sleep straight through the night.

Revision for tomorrow's history exam, however, had proved to be rather soothing, and his dream was fine- if a little odd. They were in some large stone cathedral in the Middle Ages, and the monks were singing Plainchant, and the Priest was yelling that as long as they prayed and avoided bad smells, they wouldn't be killed by the Plague; but Yugi was insisting that the only way to defeat the Black Death was through the power of the Heart of the Cards. They began to duel, but if Yugi lost, Ryou himself, Jou, and Honda would be forced to join the monks, hypnotised by their chanting; while Anzu was having a hole cut in her skull to let the evil spirits out. She was upset because she was worried if it made her head bleed the Humours would become unbalanced, and the Church bells were ringing and ringing…

Ryou woke up properly and realised that he had fallen asleep, and that it was not bells ringing, but his phone. Still half asleep, he reached out and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hi Ryou!" Anzu said, happily.

"Hi Anzu…" He replied, groggily. "How's your head?" He asked, without thinking.

"Huh?"

Ryou slapped his forehead. It woke him up slightly to, as well as punishing his idiocy. "Um… Never mind. Sorry. Weird dreams…"

She laughed sunnily. "I thought you sounded tired. Oh! I didn't wake you up, did I? Although why you'd be asleep at this time of day…"

"History revision." Ryou replied. "I think I've discovered a cure for insomnia. Anyway, you sound happy."

"I'm just relieved." Anzu admitted. "I just talked to Yugi. It's all sorted."

"How was he?" Ryou checked, sitting up straight and trying to rub the crick out of his neck. His head must have flopped at an odd angle…

"Great." Anzu sighed. "Which made me feel even worse."

"Don't worry about it." Ryou reassured her. "You did the best thing you could."

"Ah, yeah, but now I have another problem." Anzu replied. "Kaiba's hanging around outside."

"What?" Ryou stood now, sending his book falling to the floor and heading toward the kitchen to get a glass of water. "Has he done anything?"

"No." Anzu sounded surprise. "But he's just been standing around outside for ages now, and it's freaking me out a bit. Ryou, he's the one that's trying to buy the street. I'm worried I'll end up… or he'll… Look, could you come round?"

"Of course." Ryou answered, not bothering to go into the kitchen but remaining in the hall and starting to get his shoes on. "I'm more then willing to stop you doing anything silly. Just give me time to walk over."

"So… About fifteen minutes, then."

"I'll be with you in ten."

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Seto Kaiba's life had come full circle.

He had always thought he would never come back here. When his mother had died, his father had moved them away, to the next city. At the time, that had seemed like an immeasurable distance. He had hardly stopped asking when they could go back to see his friend again; until he realised that his mother would not be joining them, and she took the front place in his thoughts. Gradually, he stopped thinking about his friend so much as he made others at his new school. Then his father died, and she was pushed even further back in his mind. By the time he and Mokuba were being shunted around between various relatives, he only thought about her when Mokuba asked what life had been like before their parents had died. When they were sent to the orphanage, when Mokuba stopped asking, he had forgotten her name, and her face; and under Gozaburo's cruelty, he would have forgotten her completely were it not for a tacky, plastic, green semi-circle on a pink piece of thread, and a few buried memories that liked to resurface in the small hours of the night. More recently, like everything else in his past, he thought he had buried like everything else.

Then there had been that news report about the war over a street. His street. Where he had been happy. Even he wasn't so heartless that he could pretend he didn't care. Mokuba didn't remember that house. Seto hardly did himself. But, somehow, he had ended up coming to look at it one last time.

And he would almost be glad if it went. Seto Kaiba had little room in his life for sentimentality. That house and that bracelet reminded him of things that made his life, both past and present, suddenly be thrown into the stark, harsh light of the recent weather, with no shadowy corners to push things into. As he had stood before his old house, nowhere near as grand as the one he lived in now, guessing no-one was home as no-one came to move him on, absorbed in memories of a happier time, he had heard a noise. He had turned to see who it was, who had caught him in his moment of weakness, to find none other then Anzu Mazaki, at the house next door.

The rest had been a slight blur. After just under twelve years, he had inadvertedly kept his promise to come back. She didn't seem to realise, thinking that it was _him _that wanted to have this street torn down and build over it. He didn't correct her. He couldn't help but think that it would be better for them both if he didn't.

After she had gone in, he stood for a long time in thought, even as it began drizzling, soon turning to huge drops of water plummeting from the sky. He ignored Bakura as he went up to the house. And he thought.

The relationship between him and Mazaki was not good, and he had never had any desire for it to be. A friendship from when he was a kid was no basis for him to change his policy now, surely. He had always found life was easier if he allowed himself to care about very little. But… they had been friends back then, good friends, _best _friends, as his stupid bracelet, in his coat pocket, declared. Well, he certainly hadn't earnt that title since they'd unknowingly been reunited. He was also honest, and knew that while he did not have many redeeming qualities, he was a person of his word. And he'd promised he'd come back. He had no intention of doing so, but, he supposed, before he could be free of this obligation, he had one last job to do. As her friend.

He strode over to the car she'd pointed out, intending to do just that.

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When Anzu opened the door, Ryou was standing there, soaking wet but grinning from ear to ear.

"I told you it would rain!" He said, happily, the second the door was open. Anzu felt a little tempted to slam it shut again.

"Oh, did you?" She asked, pretending to be thinking about it. "I don't remember. And I'm not sure if I believe you." She added, jokingly. "I don't think it's raining. I refuse to believe it's raining, not after all the sun we've had."

"I did tell you." Ryou confirmed, stepping into the porch. "And if you don't believe me, I shall go inside and drip all over your best carpet."

"Fine, fine, I surrender, you win!" Anzu giggled, stepping out of the way of the door so he come inside the house properly, although he polite as always, took his now-muddy shoes first. "I'll just go get you a towel."

"Don't bother." Ryou protested. "I like being wet."

"Yes," she answered, already half way up the stairs. "But I don't like you dripping all over my best carpet!"

Ryou smiled, but repeated: "No, really, don't bother. After all, we'll be back out there in a minute."

Anzu stared at him. "What?"

Ryou shrugged. "Well, you're right on both accounts- Kaiba _is _standing around out there, and, yes, it _is _freaky. Also," He continued solemnly. "I think that rather then I try to protect us both from our dragon out there, we'd be better off just leaving. Going for a walk."

"In the rain?" Anzu asked, indcredously.

"Well, we're hardly going to do laps around your living room, are we?" Ryou said, still smiling.

"You're mad!" Anzu protested. "I'm not going out in that!"

"I prefer the word eccentric." Ryou repeated. "And if you trust me enough to follow my advise, why won't you come out on a little walk with me? It'll be fun, I promise."

"Well…" Anzu said, her resolve weakening. She threw her hands up in defeat. "Fine! Let me just grab an umbrella!" She ran back down stairs and began rummaging in the cupboard.

"Anzu…" His hand fell on her shoulder, pulling her gently away. "Leave it. Just get some shoes and a jacket. It won't work if you don't let the rain fall."

"You are mad." She said, once again, giving up the search and putting on a coat none the less.

"I prefer the word eccentric." Ryou replied, obligingly. "Now, come on."

When they got outside, Kaiba had moved, talking to the driver of the car handing out the most recent offers further up the road. And good riddance to him. As Anzu locked the door behind them, Ryou waited at the bottom of the driveway, his faced upturned to the sky. He looked so peaceful, and so happy, she hardly wanted to disturb him.

"Why do you like the rain so much?" She asked, quietly.

He shrugged, leading off in a random direction. "It's like I said. The sun always seems so much more brilliant afterwards. And rain… it can wash away any number of things. It muffles sounds, and everyone goes inside… It clears up, hides things away and brings life to everything, do you see? I guess that it can mean anything to anyone. But I just like the quiet, and the… clarity of rain, I suppose."

They walked along in silence, not going anywhere it particular, as Anzu tried to work out what Ryou had said. But as they walked, with no-one else out braving the elements, the water soaking her clothes and face and muffling the sounds all around, she began to see what he meant. The rain gave you time to detach from the world and not think about anything unless you wanted to, to withdraw into yourself and forget, to think, whatever you needed. The only other place she got it was in dance. And, it would seem, this is how Ryou did it. That was the clarity he spoke of. Everything seemed so much clearer and straight-forward beneath the cool, quiet, water.

"Ryou?" She called, surfacing from her thoughts to see that they'd walked a good long way, and now she shook him from his as he looked at her, water running in rivers down his face.

"Mmm?" He mumbled, by way of response.

"Do you want to go to the playground?"

"…Alright."

The playground was a small, scruffy patch of grass in the corner of the park, with some old swings, a slide, climbing frame, roundabout, and some of those rocking animals sitting in their own pools of bark chippings. Anzu had played there a lot when she was little, not noticing the rust and chipped paint, or the way things creaked when they moved. She had had good fun here, despite it's short comings. She had often played here with him. But as she sat down on the same swing that she had always used, she realised just how long it had been.

Anzu swung slightly, slowly, listlessly, back and forth, propelling herself just a little on her toes. Ryou silently took the swing next to her, and swung, the old chains creaking and groaning as he did. Anzu joined the motion, and gradually they became synchronised- but when Ryou was at the back, Anzu was at the front, and vice-versa. They came aligned at the centre, before swinging further out of it. Apart from them, the playground was deserted- no parent willing to let their child stay out in this rain. So they swung, endlessly back and forth, slowly getting higher and higher, further up into the rain, and the more drops that crashed onto her sodden body, the better Anzu felt. And suddenly, she started laughing, allowing her motion to wear itself out lest she fell off. Ryou stopped himself to, far less ceremoniously, digging his feet rudely into the ground until it jolted to a halt.

"What's so funny?" He asked.

"Us!" Anzu gasped. "Using the swings in the pouring rain in a playground we're far too old for, and so solemnly! I think you're 'eccentricity' is rubbing off on me. It's just so… silly!"

"Well, the world's a fairly silly place, in my opinion." Ryou replied, calm as ever, beginning his swinging once again.

"That's true." Anzu agreed, swinging again to. And they swung, and they swung until their legs hurt, regardless of the wet and cold. As they did so, they talked, and they stayed silent, at intervals. They didn't look for things to say, just said something when it came to mind. And they laughed. And by the time Anzu got home, she had forgotten all about the exams the next day, and the cleaning, and Yugi, and Seto Kaiba and his stupid offers, and the boy who lived next door. She'd probably remember it all when she woke up in the morning, but, for now, she felt better then she had done for days.

"Ryou…" She said, slowly, as he began to walk away.

"Yes?" He asked, turning.

"If it rains again tomorrow… can we go walking again?"

"Sure." Ryou replied, smiling. "We can walk to school."

Anzu groaned. She'd forgotten about that one…

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Seto came out of the impromptu meeting with an uncustomary smile on his face. He'd been correct in his assumption that, unlike the people of the street, all the business wanted was money. And that was one thing he had plenty of. So it had been a simple matter of matching the price they were offering for each house and effectively giving them the money they would have paid out if the entire street had accepted the most recent offer. And all they had to do was go away. He had known they would accept, because he knew that's what he would have done, despite their pride being on the line. It was too good to turn down.

This good deed of his was to be kept completely anonymous, except to one house- hers. He still didn't want them to know that he had been the one to buy up the street, but did ask the strangest thing. He wanted that, when they handed out the bulletins announcing that the offer was being withdrawn, they posted with hers an old bracelet. They did not question why.

Seto couldn't stop smiling. He'd saved the street, and, in a way, his childhood, but, at the same time, he had severed the last tie to his past. He had no more obligations to it, nothing else to wonder about, nothing else to do with it. A fresh start, if he believed in such things. To shove his past firmly behind him, where it belonged, and not remember it every time he saw a tacky old bracelet.

He was free.

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Ryou wandered up to Anzu's front door, whistling happily to himself. It was still raining, and he _had _said he'd walk to school with her. Of course, she wouldn't be expecting him, which would make it all the funnier.

"Good morning!" He said, cheerily, as it was Anzu herself who opened the door. She seemed surprised.

"Ryou!" She cried. "You didn't have to come all out of your way! I didn't expect you to show up this morning!"

"That's why I did." He smiled. "I'm sorry it's so early, but I figured we could meet Yugi on the way. I haven't bumped into him yet this morning though, so he must be ahead…"

"…I'm taking my umbrella this time." Anzu replied, looking out at the rain. "Come in for a second, you're getting drenched!"

"I'm fine, thank you."

"Fine…" Anzu sighed. "Just hold on one second…"

She hopped around, putting on shoes and a coat over her school socks and blazer, and dug out her umbrella. It was very old. Ryou, however, waiting patiently outside, seemed to like it. The pink, with the teddy bears in wellingtons skipping around the edge, just struck him as amusing. But, as they splashed along, Anzu deftly dodging the waves the cars sent up and Ryou appearing oblivious to it, he thought something was wrong; she didn't join in his teasing or banter at all. For once, he was the one trying to make conversation and she was the one giving monosyllabic replies. So he stopped. And she stopped to, although she didn't notice for a few metres and had to back tread, looking at him quizzically.

"What's up?" She asked, curiously, peering out from under the brolly. "You know, we shouldn't stop or we'll be late. And if you carry on getting wet like this you'll end up with a cold…"

"I was actually going to ask you the same thing." Ryou replied, evenly. "You seem so pensive this morning. What's up?"

"It's just…" She bit her lip before continuing. "They've withdrawn the offer on our houses! It's over, and the residents have won."

"That's fantastic!" Ryou declared enthusiastically. His enthusiasm did not seem to be shared. "So… why aren't you bouncing off the walls in ecstasy?"

"Look what came through the door with the notice." She said, quietly, pulling something out of her pocket and handing it to him. At first he thought it was her bracelet, but then he noticed that the colours were inverted, and it said 'BEST', not 'FRIEND' on it. So it had to be…

"Isn't this…?"

"Yeah." Anzu sighed, miserably. "He came back, fixed the problem for us, somehow, and I missed him. I can't help but wonder… But it doesn't matter."

Ryou blinked. "It doesn't? Don't you want to know who he is?"

"Of course." Anzu nodded. "But… the thing is, this is my chance to, kinda 'move on', you know?" She smiled, closing her eyes and lowering her umbrella so the rain could hit her face. "He fixed the problem for me, but he gave the bracelet back. He's not a part of my life anymore. It's been too long… any bond we had was gone, and I guess it was only my pining that made me think it was there. But now I don't have to wonder anymore. I'll never know who he is… But I guess that's okay. I don't need to anymore. What we had was a special friendship, and he'll always be a cherished part of my childhood, but he's in the past; and now I'm in the Present. So it's all good, right."

"I'm glad…" Ryou said, slowly, holding the bracelet out to her. "That you see it like that, Anzu."

She pushed his hand away, curling it around the bracelet as she did so.

"Ryou, I want you to have this. As part of the present. And hopefully the future." She added, unable to stop herself blushing.

"Thank you." Ryou said, quietly. "I've… never had a gift like this before."

"Really?" Anzu asked, putting the umbrella down completely and getting wet out in the rain with him, smiling at him and suddenly feeling oddly happy again. "…Neither have I."

They continued to school. And that particular walk was followed by many others; in sun and snow and sleet and wind and hail, in silence and talking the whole way, but the rain forever held something special, as it fell down and soaked them through, soaked them to the bone. But they didn't mind.

They just let it rain.

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A/N: Heh… THE END! Tada! Did you enjoy it? I apologise for the omnipresent references to the weather, by the way. It just kinda ended up as a running theme. But, you know, originally, it was going to be the other way around- it was going to have been raining for days and then the sun was going to come out at the end. And then I thought that as the sun was always associated with happiness and rain with sadness, I'd swap it around and see what happened. Well… Maybe it actually kinda didn't. _(Sweatdrop)_ But hey, I tried. Also my first attempt at Japanese names, and, indeed, that pairing. I don't mind Ryou/Anzu, but I think I shall have to stick to my usual Seto/Anzu and now-writing Ryou/Shizuka! Heh. It was interesting to try something different. I can't think of anything else I need to say, so… Thanks for reading:D


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